The Best Present
by Mash17
Summary: It's Christmas with Matt and Jen. Here Be fluff. R&R Probs doesn't need to be M- but safety first.


AN- Oooh time for some Christmas-y fluff. Albeit a bit late.

Disclaimer: Why yes I did find that CH played a prominent part of my Christmas this year... That is the DVD, which I played on Christmas Eve Eve, and NOT Matty, wrapped up under my tree...****

**The Best Present**

She had planned to spend her Christmas Eve in relative peace this year. Forgoing her brother's traditional pre-family-gathering party, or in his words "our annual excuse to get drunk and sing carols at the top of our lungs like we did before we hit 30, and became pathetic old people", she decided that she was going to "turn in" early and indulge in one of her most favourite, but equally secret, past-times of watching re-runs of "Top Gear" and mocking the hosts' masculine seriousness about cars.

That and denying her 'kind of' crush on Richard Hammond. He may be short- tiny even- but that didn't diminish his school-boy enthusiasm and expressions. Personality traits shared by another, much taller, man she knew.

So, at 7:30pm on December the 24th, Jennifer Mapplethorpe was quite comfortably settled on her couch with remote in one hand, drink in the other, ready to begin the marathon that she had looked forward to all week. Luckily, Jen hadn't drawn the proverbial short straw to work the Christmas weekend. Working New Year's Day, although guaranteeing a sober night before, wasn't nearly as bad as working 'the night before Christmas'.

It looked like it was shaping up to be a very relaxing Christmas indeed. She'd already wrapped all of her family presents, and those for her colleagues, to be exchanged on Boxing Day, a tradition that she'd never quite understood and had been in place before she'd arrived in Homicide. Something to do with escaping their crazy families she assumed.

Jen had gotten through nearly three episodes before her peace was disturbed. She had been staring horrified and shocked at the telly as the three hosts had destroyed two (TWO?) caravans in the attempts to cook lunch, despite the fact that her brain was telling her the whole thing was a set-up, when somebody knocked hesitantly at the front door.

Scowling at the intrusion, she stomped her way down the corridor and hurled open the front door. Whoever it was, and it was probably carollers, would just have to deal with her white wife-beater and cotton boxers with Christmas teddies.

It was not carollers, however, but a rather embarrassed and hesitant Matt Ryan, who despite his obvious nerves, looked rather glad she'd opened the door. He looked down at her outfit, but wisely did not comment on the strange make up of feminine shape and masculine coverings.

"Hi?" She prompted.

Startled by her voice, Matt almost jumped out of his skin, and began to ramble at an astonishing speed.

"Hey, Jen. How are you? I knew today was you night off and thought that maybe you'd like some company, so I picked up some ice cream and came over. I was just… anyway, I was half way here and then thought that you might be out, it being Christmas Eve and all, but I was already nearly here and thought that if you were home that maybe you wanted some company… That is if you haven't already…." He trailed off, realising where his inane rambling was leading and deciding that he didn't really want to know. He flushed, his embarrassment rising to the surface again, almost stronger than before.

Jen was somewhat befuddled by his whole outburst, but rather than confuse the issue more, she stepped aside to allow him to enter.

He made his way demurely down the passageway and into the lounge where he was shocked to see that, instead of carols or some soppy chick-flick Christmas movie, Jen was watching Top Gear. At this he raised an eyebrow.

Jen noticed that some of his nerves had dissipated as he had entered the house, which she put down to him being accepted by her. Well into her house anyway.

"Gimme that ice-cream" She said, more interested in the flavour than his questioning eyes.

Handing over the bag (that contained Neapolitan) he asked, "Top Gear, Jen?" more interested in her choice of entertainment than her avoidance tactics.

"I have a thing for Richard Hammond…." She muttered, more under her breath and more to the dishes in the cupboard than to her guest, but he caught the words nonetheless.

"You what! You have the hots for the Hamster?" His voice was incredulous, his eyes laughing despite his careful attempts to keeps his face natural.

"Listen, I don't want to talk about it. It's a thing. I like him. I like Top Gear. Or more correctly I like mocking Top Gear. That's what I plan on doing tonight. You can join me or you can go. Your choice." It wasn't that she didn't have 'a thing' for RH, but it was her much stronger affections for the man in front of her that made her tone so sharp.

Matt paled. In the efforts to keep the peace he silently grabbed his bowl of ice cream and made his way to what he affectionately referred to as his arm chair.

HE muttered "I just didn't expect that." And they settled down to a new episode. After a while, just after the credits, came- "at least it's not James May."

Jen looked at Matt. He looked straight back at her, and the two of them burst into laughter.

They settled into a peaceful silence, broken only by Jen's chortles of laughter as what she referred to as "Stupid masculinity" and Matt's gasps and moans of appreciation at some of the more high powered cars featured. It was much later in the night, after Jen had taken Matt's plate, despite his bossy claim that he should be cleaning up after her and not the other way around, that she realised what had actually brought Matt to her door.

Leaving the bowls in the sink, she made her way back to the lounge and propped herself up on the arm of Matt's chair. He automatically reached his arm around her waist to ensure she wouldn't fall. Leaning over she grabbed the remote and paused the TV.

"Matt..." she started softly, "why did you come over tonight?"

"I told you Jen," he smiled up at her. "I thought you might want some company." It was then that she noticed that his smile didn't quite reach his eyes. Eyes that, when she looked closer, were full of a form of sad longing.

"Matt" she started again, looking into his eyes, placing her hand on his cheek. "You don't have anyone to spend Christmas with do you?" She asked quietly.

He lowered his eyes, not yet willing to admit that she had stumbled upon the truth.

"Oh darling" she uttered, not completely sure where that affectionate pet name had slipped from, and using the hand she had cupping his face, tugged gently so that he was looking at her again.

And then she leant down, placed her other hand on his other cheek, and kissed him.

Shocked, he couldn't respond. But as she pulled away, and he thought the contact between them would disappear, he pulled her from her perch on the arm of the seat into his lap and kissed her back with such ferocity that neither of them could scarcely believe.

As their hands began to move over each other's body and their tongues intertwined, it felt as if time had slowed, or had even stopped completely. All that matter was right here in the large armchair, and everything else seemed to fade from existence.

Forced to pull away by the necessity to breath, Matt pulled Jen's forehead down so that it was pressed against his. She had managed somehow to move her legs so that she was straddling his hips, and her hands forced their way under his collar so that one hand grasped his shoulder (under his shirt) and the other was still gently caressing his face.

They breathed deeply, trying to regain their breaths as soon as humanly possible. Staring deeply into Jen's eyes, Matt panted out "I had to see you tonight. You mean everything to me. I wanted to say, even if it was just to myself, that I spent some of Christmas with the woman… With the woman I…"

Jen cut him off with a chaste kiss. "I know" she whispered into his ear, "I know. I love you too."

Feeling a great weight lift off his shoulders, Matt smiled up at her, for the first time that evening the joy reached his eyes.

Suddenly Jen stood and every fibre of Matt's being cried out at the loss of contact between the two of them. She turned and sauntered her way to the arched doorway, switching off the TV as she went. Matt, with his mind obviously turning with the events that had transpired, looked up dumbfounded at her actions.

"Well?" She asked turning back to him as she slowly, and rather seductively turned the corner. "Are you coming?"

It took Matt a few seconds to fully comprehend what he thought she was implying, but as Jen had made it to her bed and had flicked on both bedside lamps, he had bounded up from the chair and had practically swaggered to the bedroom door. He looked over at her with adoration.

"You really are wonderful you know."

He pulled his shirt over his head as he made his way over to the bed and heard her moan in response, "You're pretty wonderful yourself, handsome."

"Ahhh so that's why you love me? For my body?" He joked.

"Is that why you think I brought you in here?" She asked. She wasn't accusing him, or even angry.

"Well yeah." He murmured, embarrassment creeping up on him. He stood by the side of her bed, refusing to look as her, afraid of the accusations he'd see in her eyes.

She laughed and, after grabbing his hand, pulled him onto the bed. "Silly. I love you and I WANT you, especially here in my bed, but it's nearly 12 and you need to be fairly well rested for tomorrow." She wrapped her arms around his neck as she sat up on her knees.

"Tomorrow?" he asked, refusing to attempt to decipher her meaning this time.

"Well yeah" she repeated his earlier phrase, "You're going to spend Christmas with my family… and me."

"Well duh" he muttered into her shoulder. Pulled tightly into her arms, she could feel the heat from his embarrassment burning from his face onto her upper body.

Ignoring his comment she continued, "although after my 12 nieces and nephews have tortured you, my brother have glared at you and my father has pulled you aside to demand to know your intentions for his "little girl"- despite the fact I made it thought puberty, and my twenties and into my thirties with no trouble, unnecessary piecing and only one tattoo, which you can't even see most of the time- you might just wish you had spent Christmas alone."

"Only one tattoo?" He smirked at her.

"Yes just one, and if you're good you might just see it. Now get your shoes off my bed." She let go of him so that he could continue to undress. Pulling back the covers and switching off the light on her side, she unabashedly watched him in the shadowy light. He removed first his shoes, then socks and placed them out of the way. He then stood and, after taking off his pants folded and laid them and his formerly abandoned shirt on the end of the bed.

"Are you always this anal with your clothes?" She joked as he lay down beside her.

HE reached over and turned off the lamp and rolled so that she was spooned in beside him. "Only when your Dad's going to be asking my 'intentions'. I thought I shouldn't look like you've ripped my clothes off with your teeth. Which I'm sure you've imagined doing…. To Richard Hammond." It was his turn to joke

She groaned and tried to roll away from him. She knew that he would have to bring that up at some point.

"Can I just list the reasons that I'm better than him?" Matt asked the power from his grin noticeable even in the dark.

"No" she growled.

"Ok." She was shocked that he had agreed so easily.

And then he began. "Firstly, I can see over the steering wheel. Secondly, and this could be considered close to the first, I'm so much taller than he is, with the obvious benefits that come from this fact." She groaned again, but he chose to continue. "Thirdly, you're so much taller than him, ridiculously taller, and even more so in heels, but with me it's not ridiculous. Forth, he looks like a little boy, so you can only wonder what he'd be like doing adult things, unlike me…"

Here she cut him off. "Matt, I'm sure you have a wonderfully detailed list, considering that you've only known about my 'thing' for all of three hours, but can you please let me discover some things for myself? Hmmm?"

She eyed the silent figure in the dark.

"Ok."

"Ok?"

"Yeah, I'll stop. I was just letting you know how much better our relationship already is, as compared to the imaginary one you have with the Hamster… such as the fact that this, our being in bed together feels so natural, as compared to what it would be like with him"

"Surrounded by the satisfied silence I crave you mean?" The dig was a joke, but its intention was not lost in translation.

"Merry Christmas Jen" Matt whispered into her hair as he kissed her shoulder.

"Merry Christmas Matt" She responded, snuggling back into his embrace.

And a satisfied silence overtook the room.

* * *

HA! I bet you all thought that they were going to do it! HA!  
Don't worry- so did I. :P

Oh well... that's how muses roll.

I want to know what you think... I really do... even if it's crap. Especially if it's crap after my attempts to write M/E- I don't know if anyone actually liked that...


End file.
